Where Hendersonville Spends The Rest Of October, Park By Park

Where will Hendersonville be on any given October evening this year? Most nights from Oct. 22 through Oct. 30, the answer is one park off Scotch Street. Before that stretch, the calendar spreads across the city on a single Saturday. After it, things move to the lakefront parks for Halloween week.

Here is the order the month runs in, with the restaurant changes that happened along the way.

Saturday, Oct. 17 Is The Busiest Day Before The Main Stretch

Before the big run at Veterans Park, the month spreads out. On Saturday, Oct. 17, at least five events overlap in different corners of town. If you have kids, the morning will probably take some planning.

1. 18th Annual Pumpkin Patch Festival. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Center Stage Plaza, The Streets of Indian Lake. Children through age 9 get a free pumpkin from the patch. There is also live music, kids' activities, costume and dance contests, and food and artisan vendors. The rain date is Saturday, Oct. 24, and the venue says the event is subject to change.
2. Hendersonville Soccer Club Fall Festival. All day at the Drakes Creek Park Athletic Complex, 131 Conway Twitty Lane.
3. NAMI Walks. Memorial Park, also on Oct. 17.
4. Tunnels to Towers. Sanders Ferry Park, Oct. 16 and 17.
5. Indoor options at Monthaven. At the Monthaven Arts & Cultural Center, the Healing Arts Workshop "Changing with the Seasons" with Fiona Capuano runs 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for $50. The Haunted House Makeover Lunch & Learn with Brooke Hammond runs 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for $15. Participants paint a haunted version of a Monthaven print.

One scheduling warning: the city's parks calendar still lists the Pumpkin Patch Festival on Oct. 10. The Streets of Indian Lake's own event page, posted Sept. 20, says Oct. 17. Go by the venue's date.

If the Pumpkin Patch gets rained out and moves to Oct. 24, it will land on PigFest's big Saturday. Keep that in mind when you plan the following weekend.

Veterans Park Takes Over For Nine Days

On the city's community events calendar, Veterans Park at 144 Scotch Street has two events back to back. PigFest runs Oct. 22 through 24, and the Fall Carnival picks up on Oct. 25 and runs through Oct. 30. Eventbrite lists the park at 140 Scotch Street instead, so put the park's name in your GPS rather than the street number.

Saturday is the day most people will show up for. Admission is free, and more than 50 barbecue teams are competing for over $10,000. Eventbrite lists gates opening at 10 a.m., awards at 3:30 p.m. and the festival ending at 5 p.m. If you were thinking of entering a team, PigFest says registration is full and it is taking waitlist applications.

Hendersonville Parks and Recreation is listed as the organizer on Eventbrite, and the event is presented by Gary Force Acura. The festival site lists its charity beneficiaries as Grace Place Ministry, Mary's Magical Place and Christmas 4 Kids, among others. Tickets for the Thursday and Friday programs are sold through the PigFest TN site.

The Fall Carnival has fewer details. The city calendar gives dates and a location but no hours, and links only to a Facebook page. Check that page before you head over on a weeknight.

Also on Oct. 24, Rebuilding Lives Church at 403 Walton Ferry Road hosts the free Love Thy Neighbor Fall Festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with food, kids' activities, music and vendors. If you can only make one stop that Saturday, the church festival wraps up by mid-afternoon and PigFest runs until 5.

Halloween Week Moves To The Lakefront Parks

The carnival's last two days overlap with the shift back to the city's larger parks.

• Oct. 29 to 31: The World Bass Pro Fishing Tournament runs at Sanders Ferry Park, 513 Sanders Ferry Road. No daily hours are listed.
• Oct. 30, 6 to 8 p.m.: Trick or Treat at Drakes Creek Park takes place at the Athletic Complex, 131 Conway Twitty Lane. It's the same complex that hosts the soccer club's festival on Oct. 17.
• Oct. 30: This is the final listed day of the Fall Carnival at Veterans Park.

So on the Friday night before Halloween, the city calendar lists events at three parks. Drakes Creek has a set two-hour window. The carnival has no posted hours. Sanders Ferry has the tournament. If you want an early, structured evening with small kids, the 6 to 8 p.m. window at Drakes Creek is the most predictable choice.

Once Halloween passes, Memorial Park hosts the Kingdom Treasures 5K on Saturday, Nov. 7. The city page lists it as an all-day event with no start time yet.

Monthaven Is The Indoor Option All Month

On rainy days or quieter evenings, the Monthaven Arts & Cultural Center at 1017 Antebellum Circle has events through the whole month. Galleries are free and open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.

• Oct. 11, 2 to 4 p.m.: Meet Me at The MACC: Group Critique, free.
• Oct. 15, 6 p.m.: The Heritage Music Series presents The Adam Gaynor Experience, listed at $100.
• Through Oct. 25: The current exhibitions, Love Your Wild and Stories in Blue, are on their last weeks.
• Nov. 8, 5 to 8 p.m.: Opening reception for David Wright: An American Master. The exhibition runs through Jan. 10, 2027. Admission is free with a $10 suggested donation.

Love Your Wild and Stories in Blue close the Sunday after PigFest. If you have been meaning to see them, a weekday gallery visit before Oct. 25 is the easiest way to fit them in.

The Restaurant Map Changed This Fall

Between events, you'll be picking somewhere to eat. That list looks different than it did over the summer.

Puckett's Hendersonville has closed. A. Marshall Hospitality closed the restaurant at 1039 Glenbrook Way on Sept. 18, 2026. The company said the closure came from economic pressures and a strategic look at the brand's long-term position. The Hendersonville Standard also reported the Sept. 18 closing. If you have a Puckett's gift card, you can still use it. The company says gift cards are accepted at all of its restaurants and do not expire. Catering and events booked with the Hendersonville team are being handled through its other Middle Tennessee locations. The six remaining Puckett's locations are in Chattanooga, Columbia, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Nashville and Pigeon Forge. No new tenant has been announced for the Glenbrook Way space.

The Cozy Nook Coffee House reopened. The coffee shop at 357 E. Main Street opened its doors again at 7 a.m. on Labor Day, two months after a fire closed it, WKRN reported. Twin sisters Mary Ann Coulter and Diane Carey opened the shop in October 2025. That means it reaches its first anniversary this month, only weeks after reopening. It's an easy stop before a Saturday at the park.

Degthai is cooking on West Main. Owner Jay Jenratha told the Hendersonville Standard in June that he planned to open in the former Trattoria La Caverna at 750 West Main Street, pending permit approval. By late September, the Tennessee Department of Health had recorded inspection scores of 95 for Degthai and 98 for Degthai Bar at 750 W Main St Unit B, for the week of Sept. 21 to 27. Call or check their hours before you plan dinner around it.

Your October Shortlist

• Oct. 11: Free group critique at Monthaven
• Oct. 15: Adam Gaynor at Monthaven
• Oct. 17: Pumpkin Patch Festival, the soccer club festival at Drakes Creek, NAMI Walks, plus two Monthaven workshops
• Oct. 22 to 24: PigFest at Veterans Park, with free entry on Saturday
• Oct. 24: Love Thy Neighbor Fall Festival on Walton Ferry Road, and the Pumpkin Patch rain date
• Oct. 25 to 30: Fall Carnival at Veterans Park
• Oct. 29 to 31: World Bass Pro tournament at Sanders Ferry Park
• Oct. 30: Trick or Treat at Drakes Creek Park, 6 to 8 p.m.
• Nov. 7: Kingdom Treasures 5K at Memorial Park
• Nov. 8: David Wright opening reception at Monthaven

At The McGiboney Team, we're in our Hendersonville office every week, so we follow these changes as they happen, from new spots on West Main to the weeks Scotch Street fills up. If you're thinking about where your family will be spending next October, we're happy to talk it over. Find Your Middle TN Home with a team that's here all year long.